ABSTRACT
India remains one of the most interesting examples of the imbrication of an antinational utopianism and the formation of the nation state. The paradox of this spirit of anti-national heimat continuing alongside the successful establishment of postcolonial state ideology raises interesting questions about how the nation is both written and re-written. This paradox is seen most powerfully in the way the Indian nation was “written” by the lm Mother India and continues at the turn of the century to be re-written in post-Rushdie literature in an anti-national utopianism that continues the visionary scepticism of Tagore and Gandhi. But perhaps the deepest paradox lies in the ways in which Gandhi’s anti-nationalist, anti-capitalist and anti-modern philosophy of Hind Swaraj or Indian home rule provided the spiritual energy for Nehru’s nation state. The reason for turning to this radical social movement is that it demonstrates, in a clearer way than literature, the point at which utopian thinking leads to social change and thus helps us assess the political utility of utopia.
